Secrets
by TessaStarDean
Summary: Snickers. Nick asks Sara to pose as his girlfriend. Written for promptpalooza. The prompt was Please.


"Hello, Ms. Sidle," Nick greeted as he moved toward the coffee machine.

Sara looked up from her lunch, an eyebrow raised.

"What do you want?"

His face took on an exaggerated expression of hurt.

"What? A man can't greet one of his best friends?"

"Spill it, Stokes," she said. "You want something. I can feel it."

"You know me so well," he muttered, taking a seat next to her. "I need a favor."

"I figured as much. What's up?"

He seemed to struggle with himself for a minute, focusing on the coffee cup in his hand.

"Are you busy this weekend?" he asked.

"Nope."

"Not at all? Not the smallest thing you need to do?"

Sara frowned in confusion.

"Well, I mean…my apartment could use some cleaning. But no. I have no actual plans. Why?"

"I…well, I mean…I was wondering…"

"Are you alright?" Sara asked, looking at him closely. "I don't think I've ever seen you this nervous, like, ever."

He laughed. "Well, you're not exactly making this easy."

"Just spit it out, Nick."

Taking a deep breath, he glared at her.

"Fine. My brother is getting married this weekend."

"That's great!"

"I was wondering if you would come with me."

Sara stared at him in disbelief.

"Really? You want me to go?"

"Actually, that's only part of the favor."

"Oh?"

"I need…" He looked around the room, as though he would find something that could help him. "I need you to pretend you're my girlfriend."

"Excuse me?"

Nick raised his eyes to her, deciding to just bite the bullet.

"Look, my brother is always ragging on me for the girls I go out with. He calls them my blonde long-legged whores."

"So why don't you take one of them?"

"Because I don't want to. I wanna have fun. I wanna be able to relax and enjoy myself. And you're the person I do that with the easiest."

"I think you're just trying to butter me up."

"If you don't want to, Sar –"

"I won't have to make out with you the whole time, will I?" she interrupted.

He smiled at her.

"No. Just hold my hand once in awhile and look like you have some amount of interest in me."

She nodded. "Alright. I'm in."

"Really?"

Sara shrugged, going back to her lunch.

"I think it could be fun."

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"You okay?" Nick asked as he drove their rental car up to his brother's house.

"A little nervous, actually," she admitted.

"About what?"

She shrugged. "Meeting your family."

He reached out and took her hand in his.

"They'll love you, Sar."

"So…why do you go out with these women?"

"My long-legged whores, you mean?"

She gave him a small smile.

"Exactly."

He shrugged, his eyes back on the road.

"Something to do, I guess."

"That's pretty crass."

"What do you want me to say? None of them have any illusions of an actual relationship."

"So it's just about the sex?"

"I guess. Until…"

"Until what?"

He looked over and gave her a glowing smile.

"Until I actually meet the girl of my dreams."

"How do you know it's not one of them?"

"Trust me, Sara. The woman of my dreams is not some long-legged blonde."

"So she's going to be some short-legged redhead?"

Laughing, Nick shook his head.

"I highly doubt that."

"How long have we been dating?" she asked suddenly, realizing they hadn't come up with a story.

"I haven't figured that out yet."

"Well," she reasoned. "It needs to be long enough that it's obviously more than a fling, but not so long that everybody wonders why you haven't popped the question yet."

"Pretty much."

"When was the last time your brother knew about one of your many casual dates?"

Nick thought back.

"About five months ago."

She nodded resolutely.

"Then I would go with four months."

"Works for me," he smiled.

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"There they are," Nick pointed as he parked the car.

Sara opened her door and got out, timidly smiling at the couple walking toward them. It was easy to see that this was Nick's brother – although he had lighter hair and a smaller build, he had the same charming smile that got Nick so many dates. The woman walking next to him was stunning. Her long red hair was in loose curls around her face, and she was nearly as tall as the two brothers.

Nick went right up to his brother and enveloped him in a bear hug.

"Aaron," he greeted. "I'd like you to meet Sara."

Aaron Stokes smiled and hugged her. Then he pulled back and looked at her closely.

"She's not blonde."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Nick said, rolling his eyes.

Aaron looked at him with an expression of mock surprise.

"You've graduated from blondes? This MUST be serious!"

"I hate you," Nick muttered. Then he turned to the woman. "Sara, this is my almost sister-in-law, Melissa."

"Hi," Sara said with a shy smile, shaking the woman's hand.

"It's so nice to meet you," Melissa said sincerely. "And now I have a huge favor to ask of you."

Nick frowned as he looked from Melissa to Aaron, but his brother just shrugged.

"Sure," Sara said, a tinge of uncertainty in her voice. "What do you need?"

"My best friend's husband lost his brother two days ago. She has to fly out for the funeral. She needs to be with him, and I would never ask her to stay for this when he needs her. But that also leaves me without a maid of honor."

Sara's eyes widened as she realized what Melissa was asking.

"Are you…you want me to…? Wouldn't you rather have someone that you actually know? Someone from your family?"

"The only family I have consists of my two cousins who are more like vapid whores than human beings. Please don't make me use one of them."

Out of the corner of her eye, Sara could see how uncomfortable Nick was. His brother obviously hadn't warned him about this development, and she could tell that he was nervous about what her reaction would be. Taking a deep breath, she gave Melissa a broad smile.

"I'd be honored."

The other woman breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you so much. You have no idea what this means to me."

"So are you two staying at Mom's?" Aaron asked.

Nick shook his head.

"Are you kidding? I'd like to keep some of my sanity, thanks. We're staying at the Quality Inn in town."

"You know she's not going to be happy about that."

Nick shrugged as though to say there was nothing he could do about it.

"So what's the plan?" he asked instead.

"Well, I need to take Sara for her dress fitting – if you think you can live without her for a couple hours," Melissa said, winking at Nick.

He laughed. "I guess. Just don't be gone too long. I might get lonely." He turned to Aaron. "What time is the rehearsal?"

"3:30. Dress is casual."

"As in, we'd like you to come in jeans," Melissa put in.

"Are you serious?" Nick asked. "No way Mom and Dad are okay with that."

"We told them what we wanted," Aaron explained. "We told them they could set up a fancy rehearsal dinner afterward, but we're all coming in our jeans. So we're having a big dinner at the house instead."

"And then the bachelor party!" Nick said with a grin, rubbing his hands together.

Sara rolled her eyes and Melissa laughed.

"Uh, Nick…" Aaron said slowly. "I hate to burst your bubble, but there won't be a bachelor party."

Nick's face fell.

"What? That's my job as best man. As brother. I was planning a party!"

"Yeah, at the nearest strip joint," Melissa muttered. Then she raised her voice. "We're having a Jack and Jill. And it's just the four of us."

"Not inviting the vapid whores?" Nick asked.

"Thankfully, they think our idea sucks, so they're going out drinking."

"What exactly IS your idea?" Sara asked.

"Pizza, beer, movies, our place."

"I like that," Sara said. "I really like that."

"No planning, no fuss. It's the night before my wedding. I just want to relax."

Nick sighed. "I can't argue with that."

"So we'll meet you back here after we're done?" Melissa asked. "Then the two of you can drop your stuff off at the hotel and wash up before the rehearsal."

"Sounds like a plan," Nick replied.

As Melissa and Aaron kissed goodbye, Nick moved closer to Sara. She raised an eyebrow at him, daring him to try anything. Giving her his most charming smile, he pulled her in for a tight hug and kissed her on the cheek.

"I'll see you later," he whispered. "And Sara? Thank you."

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Sara fell in love with the dress immediately. It was a pale blue, with straps crisscrossing her back, leaving much of her skin bare. The silky material clung to her curves, and as she looked in the mirror, she couldn't help but smile.

"Do you like it?" Melissa asked.

"I love it," she answered sincerely. "I have to admit, I was a little worried. You hear horror stories about bridesmaid dresses."

Melissa smiled.

"Nick's never brought one of his girlfriends home before. You must be special." Sara blushed. "Where did you two meet?"

"We work together. We've been friends for years. Best friends, actually."

Melissa paused then, unsure of how to continue.

"How much has Nick told you about his family?" she finally asked.

She shrugged. "Nothing, really. We don't talk about our families really. I think he knows I don't want to talk about mine. But he tells me a lot of stuff about Aaron. They're really close."

Melissa nodded. "Yeah, they are. The leaned on each other as boys. They still do to an extent. Their lives were not…easy."

"Really? I always got the impression that Nick would have the perfect family."

"He did. Until he was 16."

Sara finished getting the dress off and putting her regular clothes back on, and she took a seat on the small couch in the dressing room next to Melissa.

"What happened?"

"Their parents got divorced. And they both remarried pretty quickly. It was the new stepparents that caused the trouble."

Sara kept quiet, knowing that she would continue when she was ready.

"Mrs. Stokes married a man named Larry Burkhart. He treats her like a princess, dotes on her…they seem really happy. But…he never liked Aaron or Nick. Every chance he gets, he tears them down, telling them how wrong they're doing things, how messed up they are. He kept telling Aaron that I was cheating on him, that a girl like me couldn't possibly love him for anything more than the money."

"Money?"

Melissa smiled faintly.

"The Stokes are loaded – both sides of the family. Larry didn't care that I come from money too. He just wanted to hurt Aaron. When it came to Nick, he ridiculed him for wanting to be a CSI. Told him over and over again that he wasn't smart enough, that he was nothing more than a pretty face. His favorite form of verbal torture was to tell Nick that he would end up alone for the rest of his life. That he was completely unlovable – that no girl would want him for anything more than a round between the sheets."

"Oh my God," Sara breathed.

"That isn't the worst of it. He used to beat them both with this old cane he carries around. It was always across the back so that their mother wouldn't notice. And he used Nick as an ashtray."

"What?"

"He would put his cigarettes out on him. Aaron too, sometimes, but mostly Nick."

Sara suddenly couldn't breathe. She had never expected that something so horrible lurked in Nick's past. He never showed any hint that he had anything but a perfect childhood. It amazed her how well he coped.

She opened her mouth to ask another question when Melissa's cell phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey, baby," Aaron greeted. "You guys almost done?"

"Yeah, we're leaving now."

"Good. See you soon."

Melissa hung up and smiled at Sara.

"The boys are lonely already. Time to go rescue them."

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Nick and Sara were both silent as they drove to their hotel. Nick kept stealing glances at her, wondering what had brought on the change in her mood. There was something eating at her, and he couldn't put his finger on what it was. A part of him feared that she was regretting her decision to come. He had been just as surprised when Melissa asked her to be the maid of honor, and he hoped that the new role didn't make her too uncomfortable. After they checked into their room and got settled, he turned to her.

"Are you okay, Sara?" he finally asked.

She gave him a sad smile.

"We need to talk."

He swallowed back the lump that suddenly formed in his throat. Sara moved to sit on the end of the bed, motioning that he should do the same. He sat beside her, trying to keep his voice from shaking.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "If this is about Melissa asking you to be her maid of honor…"

"No," Sara said firmly. "I'm really okay with that, Nick."

"Then what's wrong?"

"Why didn't you tell me about your family?"

He frowned, not understanding.

"What do you mean?"

"Melissa and I…we talked while I was getting fitted. She told me about your stepdad. What he did to you guys."

She saw his jaw clench, and she reached out to take his hand.

"Talk to me, Nick."

"I can't," he whispered.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

He shrugged. "It didn't exactly come up in everyday conversation. And…I wasn't sure how you'd react. I'm sorry. I should I have told you before I dragged you out here –"

She took his face in her hand and forced him to meet her gaze.

"You have NOTHING to apologize for, Nick. Nothing. I'm not upset. I just…we're friends, right?"

He smiled at her.

"You're my best friend, Sara."

"I don't know about that," she said with a knowing smile. "I think Warrick might win that one."

"You're neck and neck then."

She smiled at him, rubbing her thumb along his cheek.

"You can talk to me about this stuff, Nicky. It's not going to change the fact that we're friends. You can trust me."

He nodded, leaning forward and resting his head in the crook of her neck.

"Why didn't you ever tell your mom?" she asked.

Nick pulled away and lay back on the bed, motioning for Sara to do the same. Then he turned on his side and faced her.

"She was so happy," he explained. "Larry treats her well, takes care of her…she loves him so much."

"But if she knew about what he did to you and Aaron…"

"It would break her heart. He's never laid a hand on her – if he had, we would tell her in a heartbeat. But I can't do that to her, Sara. I can't destroy her world."

"You wouldn't be," she insisted. "He destroyed it the minute he mistreated you."

"Did she tell you anything else? Melissa, I mean."

"No. You guys called before she could. But I got the feeling that there was more."

He nodded.

"Look, Nick…if you don't want to talk about this, I'll understand…"

"No," he said firmly. "I…I want to, Sara. I need to. I need you to know."

"Okay," she said quietly, waiting for him to continue.

"My stepdad wasn't the only problem. My dad got remarried around the same time, to a much younger woman – Sophia. She…" He swallowed hard, not sure how exactly to say it. Sara took his hand again, holding it against her chest, letting him know that she was there for him. "When I was 17 she tried to seduce me."

"What?"

"She gave me some booze…she must have slipped something into it. I don't know. I pushed her away and ran out of the house. Called Aaron, he came to pick me up and take me to his place for the night."

"Oh Nick," she whispered, squeezing his hand.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. I just…I didn't know how to tell you."

"It's okay," she reassured him. "Now I understand why you wanted me to come. Why you wanted me to tell them that I'm your girlfriend."

"That's not the only reason. I meant what I said, Sara. I wanted to be able to enjoy myself. And I always do when I'm with you." His eyes glanced over at the clock and he sighed. "We should get ready. The rehearsal is in less than an hour."

Sara gave him a small smile before leaning in and pressing a soft kiss to his forehead. Then she rolled off the bed and went into the bathroom.

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The rehearsal went quickly and smoothly. Nick introduced Sara to his parents and stepparents, his voice and his grip on her tightening when he faced the latter. She leaned into him, both letting him know that she was there for him, and showing his family that they were happy, no matter what they thought.

After the rehearsal, everyone got back in their cars and headed up to Nick's mom's house. As they walked up to the door, Sara slipped her hand into his.

"Are you alright?" she whispered.

"I've got you," he said quietly. "I'll be okay."

Sara tried to keep from staring as they walked into the large white house. She had never suspected that Nick came from money – honestly, she had never really thought about it. But he didn't fit her idea of a southern rich kid, and for that she was glad. Looking at where he grew up, she realized that he easily could have grown up to be someone else entirely.

As they moved toward the dining room, Larry placed a heavy hand on Nick's shoulder, preventing him from continuing forward.

"I'd like to have a word with you, Nick," he said, a smile on his face.

"I think we should get to dinner," his stepson pointed out, trying to get away from the older man.

"It will only take a minute."

Nick felt Sara tighten her grip on his hand, and he took strength from her.

"Mom said the food was all ready. We can talk after." Without another word, slid out of Larry's grasp and continued down the hallway.

"How did that feel?" Sara asked under her breath.

"You have no idea," he said with a smile.

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Sara couldn't remember the last time she had laughed so hard. Throughout dinner, Aaron and Nick regaled the family with stories of past exploits. Mr. Stokes added in his own memories from when the brothers had been little, and her laughter only grew when a particular story caused Nick to blush in embarrassment.

His mother Angela sat to her left, and she often leaned in, lending her own anecdotal offerings, adding to Sara's mirth. She couldn't believe how much she was enjoying herself – Nick's family made her feel like a part of them, including her in everything. They seemed to genuinely like her, and that knowledge made her happier than she expected.

"Well," his mother finally said when the food was gone. "I think it's time for dessert."

Sophia stood up. "Nick and I will help you," she said, a coy smile on her lips.

"No, no," Angela said. "Let Nick stay with his brother and the girls. They're having too much fun."

Nick's father, David, stood up. "I'll help instead."

Angela gave him a slightly forced smile.

"That would be wonderful, thank you."

As the three of them left the room, Sara glanced at Larry. He had been drinking heavily the whole evening, but nobody had seemed to notice, as they were all celebrating. But now she saw a glint in his eye that she didn't like.

"So, Nick…how much did you have to pay her?" he asked when it was just him and the two couples.

"Excuse me?"

"Your little friend here. How much did you have to pay her to come down here and pretend to be in love with you?"

Everyone at the table tensed, Sara and Melissa looking at the two brothers to see what their reaction would be. Aaron gripped his butter knife tightly, rage in his eyes. Nick just took another sip of his wine, but Sara could feel him stiffen next to her.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he gritted out between clenched teeth.

"Oh, come on, Nicky…no way a girl that smart and that sure of herself goes out with you."

"You know what?" Sara asked, a false smile on her face. "It would be great if you could just go back to your drinking and leave the rest of us alone."

Nick nearly choked at her words, but Aaron and Melissa gave her appreciative grins. Nobody had had the guts to stand up to Larry, either out of fear of hurting Angela, or in Melissa's case, feeling that it wasn't her place. But Sara bristled at his spiteful words, and she wasn't going to let him just mow over Nick.

"Nobody asked you, you little bitch," Larry spat out.

"Hey!" Nick snapped, raising his voice. "Don't you talk to her like that."

"You finally grow a pair, Nicky?"

"Back off, Larry," Aaron growled.

"Don't even get me started with you, Aaron. You and your money-grubbing whore –"

Both Nick and Aaron pushed their chairs back at that, standing and moving towards Larry, anger flaring in their eyes. Sara and Melissa stood as well, but while Melissa moved to restrain her fiancé, Sara got right up in Larry's face.

"You're a sad, pathetic little man," she said quietly. "You get your kicks torturing two men who outdo you in every category. Is that how you feel powerful? Doing everything you can to strip them of their dignity? Well it won't work anymore, Larry. Both of them know now that they are loved and that your opinion isn't worth shit. So why don't you just take your Napoleon complex and shove it up your ass."

Larry grabbed her shoulder and shook her roughly.

"You little tramp, I'll –"

He never saw Nick coming. Sara felt herself pushed to the side as he flew at his stepfather, and she stared in amazement has Nick's fist collided with the side of Larry's face. The man went down immediately, staring up balefully at his stepson. Then a cruel smile grew on his face.

"Just wait until your mother hears about this, Nicky. Attacking innocent old men…"

"STOP IT!" Angela bellowed from behind them. "ALL OF YOU! RIGHT NOW!"

Everyone turned and froze at the sight of the older woman, her eyes wide with shock and her face red with anger. She pointed a finger at Aaron, Nick and Larry.

"You three. Upstairs. NOW."

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"Don't be too hard on Nicky, Angela…I think he's just jealous of Aaron and he lashed out –"

Larry stopped cold when Angela turned to face him, her face contorted with rage.

"You," she rasped. "Have one hour to pack your things and get the HELL out of my house."

"What? Angela –"

"DON'T you even THINK about touching me. I heard what you said to Aaron about Melissa, and I heard what you said to Sara. I don't care how much you had to drink. There is NO excuse for that kind of behavior and I WILL NOT tolerate it."

Larry decided to change tactics. "Your son hit me –"

"And you deserved it, so don't come crying to me. I get the feeling this isn't the first time, Larry, that you've been hurtful to my boys. Did you really think I would choose you over them?" He had no answer to that, and Angela looked at him contempt. "Go. Now. Before I have my sons THROW you out."

Hands shaking in rage, he walked to the door that led back to the stairs. He looked as though he wanted to say something else, but instead he left the room, moving back toward the downstairs.

When he had shut the door, Angela lifted her eyes to her two sons.

"How long?" she asked quietly.

"Mom –" Nick started.

"How long?" she repeated. "How long has he been doing this to you?"

Aaron took a deep breath and then sat on the end of the bed.

"Since you married him."

Tears immediately flooded her eyes and she moved to sit down next to him, pulling Nick until he was sitting on the other side of her.

"Tell me," she said, her voice shaking. "I want to hear it all."

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After Nick and the others had gone upstairs, Sara excused herself from the dining room. She saw Melissa watching her with worried eyes, but she just smiled at her, letting her know that she just needed a minute to collect herself.

Wandering down a hallway, she found a sitting room in the corner of the house, and she figured it unlikely that anyone would come looking for her there. Sitting down on the overstuffed couch, she tried to clear her head.

She hadn't meant to cause trouble. But Larry's words had been so hurtful, and she couldn't let him break Nick down anymore. She understood why he put up with it, why neither he nor Aaron had gone to Angela. But she also knew that it was killing him to be torn between his mother's happiness and his own sanity.

Something inside of her had snapped and the words had just tumbled out. But she wouldn't take them back, even if she could. Someone had to stand up to that man, and she had no problem with it being her.

A floorboard creaked, and her head snapped up, her eyes widening as she saw Larry Burkhart towering over her. His eyes were glass, and a bruise was quickly forming on his face where Nick had punched him.

"It's all your fault," he growled, just before backhanding her.

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Nick frowned as he wondered the house, trying to find Sara. The talk with his mother and Aaron had gone better than he could have imagined. She cried, but not for the loss of Larry – it broke her heart that her sons had tried to protect her while they were being beaten and verbally abused day after day. She made them promise to never keep something like that from them again, no matter how much they thought it might hurt her.

And somehow he had ended up telling her about Sophia as well. Her face had gone cold and tense at that, and she had actually called David's wife a "cheap trollop." After that, she had asked them to leave the room, and to tell their father that she wanted to see him.

Nick had been afraid that Aaron would be mad at him for ruining the dinner. But his brother just hugged him tightly, telling him that it was time for them to be able to move on. There was no way they could have stood by while Larry badmouthed Melissa and Sara – one way or another, things were going to come to a head.

As he continued to look for Sara, he smiled at the memory of her telling Larry off. He had never seen her so riled before, even on their worst cases. The fact that she felt so protective about him brought a warm feeling to his chest. She hadn't run from his crazy family – she had stood by him and defended him.

He stopped when he heard sounds coming from one of the rarely-used sitting rooms. Moving slowly, he crept toward the doorway, wondering who could be in there.

He froze just outside of the room, a powerful rage sweeping over him. Larry was straddling Sara, one hand wrapped around her neck while the other drifted up under her shirt. She struggled against him, but he had her securely pinned to the ground.

Nick didn't even think about it. With a roar, he sprung forward, bowling into Larry and knocking him off of Sara. Then he swung at him over and over again, not caring if he killed the bastard.

Shouts reached his ears as others entered the room. Strong arms wrapped around him, pulling him off of Larry and dragging him away. Familiar voices told him to calm down, to breathe, that he wasn't worth it. Slowly, his rage subsided enough that he could think clearly. His eyes automatically went to Sara, who was standing next to Melissa and massaging her neck. He moved toward her immediately.

"Are you alright?"

She gave him a faint smile.

"I'm fine. You got here in time."

"Only barely," he said quietly.

He turned to see Aaron dragging Larry out of the room. At the same time, his father grabbed Sophia's arm and pulled her out of the room as well. Angela saw his confused look.

"I told your father about what Sophia had done to you. You won't be seeing her again."

"Mom, it was years ago –"

"And you think I'd just forget it and let her stay?" David asked as he came back into the room. "What she did was unforgivable, Nick. I don't care how long ago it happened."

"It's getting late," Angela said quietly. "And I know that the four of you have plans. So why don't you go and enjoy yourselves. Your father and I will see you tomorrow."

"Are you sure?" Aaron asked.

She smiled at them.

"Yes. Your father and I need to talk. Go. Try to enjoy the rest of your night." Then she walked up to Sara. "I want to apologize for my husband's behavior. If there is anything I can do –"

Sara cut her off with a smile.

"It's not your fault. I'm just glad that things got aired tonight."

Angela reached out and tucked a stray hair behind Sara's ear.

"You really are a wonderful woman," she said quietly. "And I am so happy that Nick found you."

"It's me who's lucky," Sara replied, her voice breaking slightly.

The brothers hugged their parents and then walked outside, stopping by their cars.

"Well that was…interesting," Aaron said lamely.

"Understatement of the year," Sara muttered.

"Do you guys still want to come over? We understand if you just want to get some sleep."

Nick looked to Sara, who shook her head and smiled.

"We'll still be there. I think we could all use a couple beers."

"Amen to that."

"We'll meet you there in a little bit," Nick said.

Aaron caught the meaning of his little brother's words and nodded. "Yeah. Just call us when you're on your way and we'll call for pizza, okay?"

"Sounds good."

Sara watched Aaron and Melissa get into their car and pull out of the driveway before turning to Nick.

"What's up?"

"Can we go for a walk?"

"Sure."

They walked in silence for a long while, moving toward the back of the property. There was a little creek down by the woods, Nick led them over to a large tree planted beside it.

"Sara…" he said softly. "I am so sorry. I never thought…I shouldn't have left you alone down there. I shouldn't have asked you to come –"

He was cut off as Sara came closer and kissed him lightly on the lips. He stared at her in surprise for a moment, but then he pulled her back to him, one hand tangling in her dark hair as his lips met hers again. Her arms slid around his neck, holding him close as she tilted her head and slid her tongue along his lips. Nick happily opened up to her, moaning at the contact and somehow pulling her even closer.

They stood like that for a long time, the moonlight shining all around them as they left the world behind, suddenly only aware of each other. But then breathing became difficult, and they had to pull away. Leaning her forehead against his, Sara smiled.

"They're waiting for us."

"Yeah," Nick whispered.

"But we can, uh…continue this later?" she asked nervously.

"Definitely," he murmured, nuzzling against the crook of her neck.

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Melissa smiled as she glanced at Nick and Sara on the other end of the couch. Nick had his arm wrapped tightly around her, and she was laying her head on his chest. All day Melissa had been wondering if they were really dating. She saw the look in Nick's eye every time he looked at Sara, and it wasn't that of a loving boyfriend. He looked at her as though he _wished_ she was his, but never thought it could happen.

But something had obviously changed. As the movie played on and they sat their enjoying each other's company, she saw that he looked at Sara as though he couldn't believe that she had actually chosen him.

Smiling to herself, Melissa thanked God that something good could come out of the insanity of a few hours before.

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Nick tried not to fidget as he stood beside Aaron. It wasn't his wedding day, but he was still nervous. They had all fallen asleep at his brother's house, and early the next morning, Melissa and Sara had disappeared to his mother's house to get ready. Nick couldn't wait to see Sara, to see how she looked in her dress. He knew that he was supposed to be thinking about Aaron and Melissa, but he just couldn't help it.

Then she was coming down the aisle, and his breath caught in his throat. He had never seen her look so beautiful before, the blue fabric of the dress clinging to her body, bringing his eyes directly to her curves. She smiled at him as she walked, a nervous blush coloring her cheeks. He nearly choked when she turned to take her place across the aisle – the dress had almost no back to speak of.

Try as he might later, the only thing that Nick could remember about the ceremony was how good Sara looked.

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"Thank you," Sara murmured as they danced across the floor.

They had been dancing for hours, and the guests were starting to leave. They had each shared dances with others – Aaron and Melissa, Angela and David – but for the most part, they had stayed together, unwilling to let each other go. Now he smiled at her, pulling her closer.

"For what?"

"For asking me to come."

"I should be thanking you," he laughed. "You didn't have to do all this."

"No. But it was the most fun I've had in a long time."

Nick smiled at her words, and then his eyes drifted around the room, eventually landing on his parents dancing together.

"I wonder what that's all about," he said quietly.

Sara turned to look and smiled, before turning back to Nick.

"I don't know. But I'm sure it's a good thing."

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Nick frowned when he opened the door to their hotel room and saw a bottle of champagne resting in a bucket of ice. He turned to look at Sara, who had a smug smile on her face as she shut the door.

"I thought we could have a little drink before bed," she explained, moving toward the champagne.

Nick's gaze dropped to her back, his brain refusing to function past the thought that she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

"How exactly do you get that off?" he asked without thinking.

Sara blushed as she turned around.

"The dress you mean?"

"I'm sorry," he stammered. "I shouldn't have –"

"It's really easy, actually," she said quietly. Moving back over to him, she turned around so that her back was to him. "You see that little knot at the bottom? You just pulled that and all the laces come undone."

"All of them?" he asked, his voice husky.

"All of them," she repeated.

He reached out and took a hold of the knot, but didn't go any further.

"Is this real?" he finally asked. "Us?"

Sara turned and took his face in her hands.

"Do you want it to be?"

"Yes," he whispered.

"Then it's real."

She leaned in and kissed him then, pouring all of the pent up passion into that one moment. He pulled her closer immediately, sinking into her lips. His hand slid down her back and found the knot again, this time pulling it without any hesitation. As she felt the straps go loose, Sara pulled back and looked at him.

"Keep this up and I don't think we're going to have that drink."

"After," he murmured, pushing the straps down and bringing his lips to her skin.

"After," she echoed.


End file.
